Lady Statesmen Week 3 Game Notes (PDF)

CLEVELAND - The Lady Statesmen soccer team heads into the third conference weekend of the season this week and will play their first two road conference matches of the season as well. Delta State enters the pair of tests 1-2 in conference play, sitting in the sixth and final spot that qualifies for the post season tournament.

Delta State comes off of a 1-1 weekend against Shorter and Alabama-Huntsville where the Lady Statesmen scored six goals in two games, breaking out of a scoreless drought from the week before.

The Lady Statesmen are winless against West Alabama and West Florida with an 0-8-0 record all time. The Lady Statesmen lost to West Alabama 1-0 last season in the only game between the two schools. DSU lost to the Argos 9-1 last season.

PEARSON BACK ON TRACK
After being held scoreless through the first three games of the season, Payten Pearson got back on track this past weekend with a pair of goals, one in each game.

Pearson scored the game winner against Shorter, giving the Lady Statesmen their first conference win of the season. The junior forward from Fort Worth, Texas also added a goal Sunday that sparked a resurgence in the Lady Statesmen attack.
Charlotte adds another
Junior midfielder Charlotte Benson added another goal to her tally on the young season, knocking one in against Shorter. Benson has two goals this season and six total in her career for the Lady Statesmen.

LONG OVERDUE FOR LAURENZI
Michelle Laurenzi scored her first goal as a Lady Statesman against Shorter. The senior midfielder has started in 20 games and played in all 22 games since she arrived on campus last season. Laurenzi led the Lady Statesmen with 16 shots on goal (22 total) in 2011  and has three shots on goals (five total) in 2012.

TICKER MAKING THE FIRST MARK IN WINS
Erin Tucker has been a speedy addition to the attack for the Lady Statesmen in 2012. The freshman has been a large part of the offensive chances through five games and has been a break through in the Lady Statesmen wins this season.

The Tupelo, Miss. native has scored twice for the Lady Statesmen in 2012, leading off both wins for Delta State by scoring the opening goal of the game.

Tucker scored in the 11th minute of the season opener that resulted in a 2-1 win over Belhaven. She also scored in the 24th minute to open up the Delta State's five goal game against Shorter. Tucker also had an assist in Sunday's game.

LADY STATESMEN SNAP STREAK
After almost four seasons, the Lady Statesmen finally ended a streak with a victory over Shorter last Friday. The victory was the first for DSU in a conference game since defeating Alabama-Huntsville 1-0 on Oct. 24, 2008, a span of 1,421 days and an 0-24-0 record in GSC play.

AGAINST THE STATES
The Lady Statesmen are 0-1-0 against the state of Alabama this season after last week's loss to Alabama-Huntsville. Delta State is 5-26-1 against the “Yellowhammer State” heading into this weeks matchup at West Alabama.

The Lady Statesmen will face a team from Florida for the first time in 2012 when they travel to West Florida Sunday. Overall, the Lady Statesmen are 1-7-0 against the “Sunshine State” with the lone win  coming against Northwood in 2006.